Health benefits of mulberries

Morus spp.

Moraceae

Common Names: Mulberry.

Species: White Mulberry (Morus alba L.), Black Mulberry (M. nigra L.), American Mulberry, Red Mulberry (M. rubra L.). Hybrid forms exist between Morus alba and M. rubra.

Related Species: Korean Mulberry (Morus australis), Himalayan Mulberry (M. laevigata).

Distant Affinity: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), Jackfruit (A. heterophyllus), Fig (Ficus spp.), Che (Cudrania tricuspidata), African Breadfruit (Treculia african).

Origin: The white mulberry is native to eastern and central China. It became naturalized in Europe centuries ago. The tree was introduced into America for silkworm culture in early colonial times and naturalized and hybridized with the native red mulberry. The red or American mulberry is native to eastern United States from Massachusetts to Kansas and down to the Gulf coast. The black mulberry is native to western Asia and has been grown for its fruits in Europe since before Roman times.

Adaptation: The white mulberry, and to a lesser extent the red mulberry, are quite tolerant of drought, pollution and poor soil. The white mulberry is considered a weed tree in many parts of the country including urban areas. The black mulberry is more fastidious, faring less well in cold climates or areas with humid summers. The white mulberry is the most cold-hardy of the three species, although this varies from one clone to another. Some are damaged at 25° F, while others are unfazed at -25° F. Red mulberries are hardy to sub-zero temperatures. The black mulberry is the least cold-hardy of the three, although again cold tolerance seems to depend on the clone. In general it is limited to USDA Hardiness Zone 7 (0° to 10° F average minimum) or warmer. They have been planted only to a limited extent in America, mostly on the Pacific Coast. The mulberry makes a good town tree which will grow well in a tub.

DESCRIPTION

Growth Habit: All three mulberry species are deciduous trees of varying sizes. White mulberries can grow to 80 ft. and are the most variable in form, including drooping and pyramidal shapes. In the South on rich soils the red mulberry can reach 70 ft. in height. The black mulberry is the smallest of the three, sometimes growing to 30 ft. in height, but it tends to be a bush if not trained when it is young. The species vary greatly in longevity. Red mulberry trees rarely live more than 75 years, while black mulberries have been known to bear fruit for hundreds of years. The mulberry makes an attractive tree which will bear fruit while still small and young.

Foliage: The white mulberry is so-named for the color of its buds, rather than the color of its fruit. The thin, glossy, light green leaves are variously lobed even on the same plant. Some are unlobed while others are glove-shaped. Leaves of the red mulberry are larger and thicker, blunt toothed and often lobed. They are rough on their upper surfaces and pubescent underneath. The smaller black mulberry leaves are similar to those of the red mulberry, but with sturdier twigs and fatter buds. The species vary in the time of year they begin to leaf-out. White mulberries generally come out in early spring, almost two months before black mulberries.

Flowers: Mulberry trees are either dioecious or monoecious, and sometimes will change from one sex to another. The flowers are held on short, green, pendulous, nondescript catkins that appear in the axils of the current season's growth and on spurs on older wood. They are wind pollinated and some cultivars will set fruit without any pollination. Cross-pollination is not necessary. In California mulberries set fruit without pollination.

Fruit: Botanically the fruit is not a berry but a collective fruit, in appearance like a swollen loganberry. When the flowers are pollinated, they and their fleshy bases begin to swell. Ultimately they become completely altered in texture and color, becoming succulent, fat and full of juice. In appearance, each tiny swollen flower roughly resembles the individual drupe of a blackberry. The color of the fruit does not identify the mulberry species. White mulberries, for example, can produce white, lavender or black fruit. White mulberry fruits are generally very sweet but often lacking in needed tartness. Red mulberry fruits are usually deep red, almost black, and in the best clones have a flavor that almost equals that of the black mulberry. Black mulberry fruits are large and juicy, with a good balance of sweetness and tartness that makes them the best flavored species of mulberry. The refreshing tart taste is in some ways reminiscent of grapefruit. Mulberries ripen over an extended period of time unlike many other fruits which seem to come all at once.

Health benefits of mulberries

You probably never heard about raw mulberry juice until now. You may know silkworms, which eat mulberry leaves and spin cocoons. Mulberry leaves are always used to feed silkworm and mulberry fruit is usually discarded. After cultivation for many years, our scientist have selected the best varieties of edible mulberry fruit and planted the mulberry trees in the pollution-free fields. Through effective work we have dramatically increased the quantity and improved quality of the mulberry fruit. The raw mulberry juice we recommend is squeezed out of the mulberry fruit with delicate fragrance and taste. This juice will enhance your health, such as yin nourishing, enriching the blood, tonifying the liver and kidney, calming the nerves, promoting the metabolism of alcohol, balancing internal secretions, and enhancing immunity.

Mulberry is a kind of nourishing tonic medicine that can broadly be used to cure some debility symptoms when used with other restoratives. The person who has symptoms such as anemia, dizziness, or low libido, can take a tonic to build up health with mulberry. An electuary, made from a prescription of mulberry with medlar, ligustrum, and schizandra, can nourish and enrich the blood; the wine made by immersing the mulberry in rice wine or grape wine, is a medicament for weakness after diseases that can also be used to tonify masculine vitality and benefit overall vitality.

Mulberry can nourish and promote production of body fluid. The person who has body fluid deficiency often feels their mouth parched and tongue scorched. When mulberry is ripe in the summer, a person can take one ounce every day. This product has a faint scent and sweet taste, suitable for people of all ages. Brew water to take the dry fruit, using 10 grams each time. The person who has dry eyes and uses their eyes a lot during work can drink mulberry juice, which can nourish the body fluid and strengthen sight.

Mulberry contains plentiful nutritious elements, such as minerals and vitamins; it can cure chronic diseases of the digestive tract, promote gastric juice secretion, strengthen the ability for digesting and assimilating, improve the appetite, and eliminate abdominal distention and constipation. Mulberry is suitable also for chronic gastritis and chronic hepatitis.

Mulberry has the function of nourishing blood. If the person who has anemia, pallor, dizziness, insomnia, and heart-palpitations regularly takes mulberry juice, they will experience good effects. Women who have the above symptoms after childbirth, or anyone after a long-time sickness or after a major operation, can take mulberry frequently as a restorative. Compounding with other herbs to make Wuchang, mulberry is combined with tang-kuei, ligustrum, and rehmannia. A prescription or compound such as Wuchang can nourish blood, blacken hair, and help grow hair. Those who experience premature aging, such as graying hair and impotence, can take mulberry often. The pill, electuary, and wine all have high efficacy. The effect will be better for blackening hair and beautifying when it is combined with tang-kuei, ho-shou-wu, and drynaria. The mulberry juice can also be applied topically to the head to promote healthy hair growth.

Other Benefit Of Mullberry

§  Delicious, fleshy, succulent mulberries are low in calories (just 43 cal per 100 g); but are rich source of many health promoting plant derived compounds, minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

§  Mulberries have significantly high amounts of phenolic flavonoid phytochemicals called anthocyanins. Scientific studies have shown that consumption of berries have potential health effects against cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and bacterial infections

§  The berries contain resveratrol, another polyphenol flavonoid antioxidant. Resveratrol has been found to be protective against stroke risk by alteration of molecular mechanisms in blood vessels, reducing susceptibility to vascular damage through decreased activity of angiotensin (a systemic hormone causing blood vessel constriction that would elevate blood pressure) and increased production of the vasodilator hormone, nitric oxide.

§  In addition, these berries are an excellent source of vitamin-C (36.4 mcg per 100, about 61% of RDI), which is also a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents, counter inflammation and scavenge harmful free radicals.

§  They also contain good amount vitamin A, vitamin E and in addition to the above mentioned antioxidants also contain many other health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, ß-carotene and α-carotene in small but notably significant amounts. These compounds help act as protect from harmful effects of oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease process.

§  Zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions in the retina of eyes.

§  Mulberries are excellent source of iron, which is a rare feature among berries, contains 1.85 mg/100 g of fruits (about 23% of RDI). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. 

§  They also good source of minerals like potassium, manganese, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

§  They are rich in B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K. Contain very good amounts of vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid. These vitamins are function as co-factors and help body in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.